Real or Artificial?

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Artificial. I hate the scent of pine.

Then go with a Fir or Spruce.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

Then go with a Fir or Spruce.

Nope, don’t like the smell of any of them.

 

[xjillianpaige]

artificial. the one time I touched a real tree I broke out in hives.

 

[Caseheidi]

I love a real tree, but we started going artificial a few years ago when we had both a kitten and a puppy. And tbh, I love the tree we got. It is pre-lite, full and goes up in 5 minutes. We live in Oregon, one of the Christmas Tree Capitals of the world, and usually our real trees were beautiful, but they were getting more and more expensive. We paid for this tree with two seasons, and have no watering to do, and no dropping pine needles. Now if we could just keep the cat and dog from playing under it!

 

[HopperFan]

Didn't vote.

6 artificial, 1 real (small one though because we travel right away after).

 

[dreamin_disney]

Artificial. I have allergies

 

[Katie Dawn]

We have cats. In an effort to not have to clean up pine scented cat throw up we choose artificial every year.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

Only artificial trees anymore for inside. I don't want the hassle of a real tree. And pre-lit. If the lights stop working and aren't easily fixable, just heave it and but a new one. We buy cheap fake trees, something like the $59 special. When they're all fluffed out and decorated they look good. No sense spending $300 for a extremely full fake tree with 2,137 tips.

Does anybody ever check to see if the tip count is accurate? They could be bamboozling you.

I DO buy one of those 3 foot real tabletop trees and put it on the porch with my Pink Flamingo decorations.

 

[Darcy03231]

Artificial. I'm terrified of fire. I also like to put it up the day after Thanksgiving and leave it up until mid-January. No way I'd leave a real one up that long.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Help! For those with artificial, do you have pre-lit or add lights? I have a Balsam Hill pre-lit and three branches will not light up. Sooooo frustrating. I've adjusted, checked every bulb, wiggled the branches and cannot find any loose connections. This was a new purchase in 2020 and it is still under warranty but the idea of sending it back is just too much trouble. We bought a 2nd home with cathedral ceilings and now I'm thinking I shouldn't invest in a very expensive BH tree again. Our 7 ft pre-lit was $400 but the 12 ft BH run upward of $2000.

I'm not opposed to real but we haven't had the best luck as most of our ornaments are too heavy and they don't stay on the branches very well.

Our Balsam Hill tree bought in 2014 has a section (the upper middle one) now out as of last year.. It's no longer under warranty though. We spent like $400 on it and it's a lot more now.

I don't want the hassle of buying non-lit trees but of course lit trees have their own hassles.

We have this we bought years ago : https://www.target.com/p/lightkeeper-pro-light-repair-kit/-/A-52352111?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000012806747&CPNG=PLA_Seasonal+Shopping_Local|Seasonal_Ecomm_Home&adgroup=SC_Seasonal_Catch+All&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=c&location=9023858&targetid=pla-380305064538&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkZKNBhDiARIsAPsk0WiaTms0jWIhDg3IKg8Ge9A4mAFqI3ZXP1W19wcQ3UbFaAg0dc5Y7DYaAgl-EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

We didn't buy it from Target but I wanted to give a link. That is for incandescent lights but there is this version for LED lights: https://www.amazon.com/LED-Light-Keeper-Complete-Christmas/dp/B009SDS6QK

That lightkeeper pro has been a literal lifesaver over the years we've had it. We've used it on all our strands at some point save the LED (we haven't bought the LED version yet) ones we use around our pillars in the front. It worked also on some random bulbs on the Balsam Hill tree. It's up to you but you depending on what you have (incandescent vs LED) you might try using the device first before thinking about trying to send it in or getting a new tree.

We actually just strung some old lights into the tree. It's not the best but it works out okay, using some ornaments to help hide the extra lights. While I would like a new Balsam Hill tree my husband is not really wanting to get that because he feels the high costs for the tree to go out (even though it wasn't until the 7th year that they went out) isn't worth it but I guess we'll see. I like traditional artificial trees and a lot of companies including Balsam Hill make ones that are the stiffer plastic so it becomes a hunt to find one that has the more old school traditional. Plus we need at least a 9 foot tree otherwise it would just look a bit off since where the tree goes it's a 2 story foyer/entrance.

 

[Mysterian]

Fake. Mine is short, assembles from two halves, and has some lights, but I add decorations to it.

One year I saw some odd fake trees, I think at Big Lots. They were lazily-welded metal, bare branched trees that were spray-painted white. It was a depressing tree yearning to gouge out some eyes. Fortunately red is a Christmas color, and I'm sure that would add some accent to this sad tree.

 

[RedAngie]

Fake. Mine is short, assembles from two halves, and has some lights, but I add decorations to it.

One year I saw some odd fake trees, I think at Big Lots. They were lazily-welded metal, bare branched trees that were spray-painted white. It was a depressing tree yearning to gouge out some eyes. Fortunately red is a Christmas color, and I'm sure that would add some accent to this sad tree.

i saw a pink tree and a rainbow one at Big Lots.

 

[Mysterian]

i saw a pink tree and a rainbow one at Big Lots.

I guess Big Lots celebrates the kind of Christmas best enjoyed with a black light and hallucinogenic substances.

 

[MamaMermaid]

Artificial but this may be our last year with it. Hubby hates putting it up in the attic!

 

[StephMK]

I love real trees but use artificial. Our dogs were not trained when we adopted them and I was afraid they'd mark the tree. I bought a pine candle to use for the holiday scent.

 

[ShaneBright]

For decoration, artificial tree.
Or, Real.

 

[indimom]

DH can't stand the smell. So artificial for us.
Now that I truly own a pre-lit AND easy-to-assemble tree, I'm not as bothered. lol